You can use the terms "and" & "or" in your search; "or" phrases are resolved
first, then the "and" phrases. For example, searching for "black hole and
galaxy or universe" will find articles that have the phrase "black hole" in them
and also have either "galaxy" or "universe" in them. Please note that other
search syntax like quote marks, hyphens, etc. are not currently supported.

When you view web pages with matches to your search, the terms you searched for will be highlighted in yellow.

If you are aware of an interesting new academic paper (that has been published in a peer-reviewed journal or has appeared on the arXiv), a conference talk (at an official professional scientific meeting), an external blog post (by a professional scientist) or a news item (in the mainstream news media), which you think might make an interesting topic for an FQXi blog post, then please contact us at forums@fqxi.org with a link to the original source and a sentence about why you think that the work is worthy of discussion. Please note that we receive many such suggestions and while we endeavour to respond to them, we may not be able to reply to all suggestions.

Please also note that we do not accept unsolicited posts and we cannot review, or open new threads for, unsolicited articles or papers. Requests to review or post such materials will not be answered. If you have your own novel physics theory or model, which you would like to post for further discussion among then FQXi community, then please add them directly to the "Alternative Models of Reality" thread, or to the "Alternative Models of Cosmology" thread. Thank you.

Thomas Ray: "It's easy to get wound around the axle with black hole thermodynamics,..."
in“Spookiness”...

RECENT ARTICLESclick titles to read articles

Why Time Might Not Be an Illusion
Einstein’s relativity pushes physicists towards a picture of the universe as a block, in which the past, present, and future all exist on the same footing; but maybe that shift in thinking has gone too far.

The Complexity Conundrum
Resolving the black hole firewall paradox—by calculating what a real astronaut would compute at the black hole's edge.

Quantum Dream Time
Defining a ‘quantum clock’ and a 'quantum ruler' could help those attempting to unify physics—and solve the mystery of vanishing time.

Our Place in the Multiverse
Calculating the odds that intelligent observers arise in parallel universes—and working out what they might see.

The synchronization of space and time defines the present. If we imagine the past –in a space-time diagram- as a curvy path whose head is the present, any cross-over of paths represents a synchronization of events. Such is the encounter of my path as a pedestrian going through a park, on a road, with a couple of cars, all crossing at the exact same point in space-time. We can structure space from the smallest distance measurable of 10-16 cm, and time, from duration measurement of 10-18 sec. Are these two scales dependant, should they be “synchronized”? How? Can matter’s genesis depend on the synchronization of fluctuations of time and space at the smallest scale? Was the Big-Bang a phase transition between a time-space-plasma (unsynchronized time and space scales) and synchronized space-time? Is this phase transition still occurring at the edge of the expanding universe, with most of the (missing) matter localized at this new expanding horizon? Is it conceivable that more than one Big-Bang occurred in the past, perhaps three (to explain the table of particles), that continue to expand and interact to knit our present universe, a tissue of granulated matter obtained by interference: the drumming of Space-Time! Our collective experience anchors our perception of time and space into a global consciousness, which has remained, perhaps, until now, very basic and common sense even after the scientific revolution. New media communication tools, such as live video-games, could generate a more sophisticated and powerful “laser consciousness” where all brain activity from the participants synchronize to resonate with the reality that they create together. This offers to redefine our limits of space-time, and a new generation for mankind.

I enjoyed your essay very much. I have read many of the essays here with great interest but find some of my ideas have a 'resonance' with some of yours. My essay is based upon the intraction of 'assumed' vibrating fields which fill all space. Matter being the result of harmonics in a number of fields being sustained by resonance in another.Matter being similar to 'standing waves' at a point. The energy transfer via resonance, being a continueous 'flow' toward each point, giving the effects of both inertia and gravity to those points.Any difference between perfect resonance and imperfect resonance being seen as a 'feedback' interference into the sustaining field. We seeing it as heat light etc depending on how far from perfect resonance the point is.

Sorry. Getting to the point of this post, I feel that if what I propose has any foundation in reality then these following things may happen.

Every point of matter will transmit its existence to every other point of matter.(in the universe eventually) Both as feedback into the sustaining field and and through effecting the 'flow of' sustaining energy(its gravitational effect albeit very small) and also into the 'harmonic' fields.

This could mean that every 'thought' we have will fill the universe! Every thought we have will pass through every other brain. Every thought we have will be transmitted into the 'harmonic fields'(perhaps more permanent than the 'resonant' field?) like rain on a tin roof or the distant beating of a drum? They may very well form the 'memory well' of the global/universal consciousness.Or even the laser consciousness of which you speak.Perhaps only the odd 'freak' human brain is tuned to recieve its frequency or perhaps we all dip into this well from time to time.(I don't really know where i got these essay thoghts from either!)Perhaps as you suggest, humans will evolve to tune in and syncronise within these fields.

It may be that from this 'reverberating well' of 'knowledge' (and perhaps 'awareness,') that may survive the comings and goings of universes, that gives rise to the 'will to live' which organises matter into life, (wherever it can),and gives it, its instincts to survive, perhaps.Who knows?

Oh dear, my tea's burnt! As you say doesn't time fly!

Good Luck and thanks for a great essay.

SA

Iacob Suteu wrote on Dec. 26, 2008 @ 20:18 GMT

Hi Jean,

Read your article.

You wrote:

"Our ability to focus intensely on a given task makes our

perception of time a unique individual experience, unshared with others. For instance, the

writing of a theoretical article makes time loose its grip: the present, past and future

dissolve. « Hello, I am back » says my wife, and I thought, for a moment, that she had

left five minutes ago, although four hours had passed."

I propose the following experiment:

First of all you have to do something that will necessitate your attention so the above experience might happen. But with a difference this time. You'll have to put some music that you like, in this way you will notice when you focus intensely. You will probably notice that the melody is fragmented (you hear only fragments). Also if you have a web camera, you could record your eye blinking during this experiment. In this case you could see if some body automatic behaviors are affected.

Thanks for your comment and suggestion. I have indeed already noticed the in/out perception of music when focused. But, often, when I am concentrating on some thoughts, music distracts me, and I can't think, I have to shut it down. For the webcam experiment, quite a good idea, and I will try it.